MATERIAL: BRONZE OR BRONZE RESIN ON OAK PLINTH

MEASUREMENTS: TORSO IS 85CM HIGH, 35 CM WIDE AND 40 CM DEEP

BASE: OAK PLINTH WHICH IS 80CM HIGH AND 35CM SQUARE

Jane Shaw on this sculpture:
This life-size figurative torso sculpture was a commission to be put in a walled garden in Gloucestershire.  I began this project with a small maquette in wax.  My brief was to make the torso look alluring and bold.  Therefore when I began the  sculpture in clay on a large scale, I twisted the torso to create a feeling of movement and power.  I also left many of my marks created by the tools in the clay, as I did not want the viewer to forget this was a sculpture first and foremost.

I named this bronze figurative sculpture ‘Circe’ after the most powerful enchantresses in Greek mythology.  However, since the days of ancient Greece, Circe’s name has been related to witchcraft, deception and seduction.  But I am hoping this ‘Circe’ is just showing off her female curves and therefore the power of her body creates a lovely figurative torso in a garden, and can be a pleasure to view from every angle, or indeed at the end of a long path.

There is nothing wrong with seduction – it should be celebrated and enjoyed and I hope this bronze life-size torso of the female body will be seen as a great example of positive female power.

MATERIAL: BRONZE RESIN

MEASUREMENTS: H 49CM L 65CM W 22CM

KING OF THE CASTLE – LIFE-SIZE JACK RUSSELL

Jane Shaw on this sculpture: 
This little fellow was a pleasure to sculpt to create an indoor or outdoor bronze animal dog sculpture.  It was a commission of a lovely Jack Russell, who was small but bursting  with character and charm.

Jack Russell Terrier, also called Parson Russell Terrier or Parson Jack Russell Terrier, developed in England in the 19th century for hunting foxes both above and below ground. It was named after the Reverend John Russell, a keen hunter who created the breed.  Because they have a broad genetic make-up, they do not breed true to type and so are a strain of working terrier and can vary a great deal in looks!

Whilst this bronze animal sculpture of a terrier dog was  based on a wire-haired Jack Russell, he did have quite long legs, so there was definitely a hint of parsons in him somewhere!

As with all my commissions, I began with a small maquette in wax of the Jack Russell Terrier, and then scaled him up and built an armature of a life-size dog for this terrier breed.  I worked with clay, and built a sturdy looking body, but struggled with the head – often decapitating him and beginning again a number of times. My model was a wire-haired Jack Russell, so his face was not clean cut like many short haired dogs, and he did have a rather unique look which I tried to capture, without loosing the overall feeling of Jack Russell!  Because he had sadly died, I had to borrow another Jack Russell who would often run around my studio, never standing still, and playing with my dogs outside as I continued to sculpt this animal in clay.  Not a very good model for a bronze sculpture, as they never stand still!  But his character shone through which I loved.  I had to include the tilt of the head to one side, which Terriers often portray when they are engaged with you but perhaps don’t fully understand the human command.